Distribution and diversity of Prochlorococcus ecotypes in the Red Sea
Type
ArticleKAUST Department
Red Sea Research Center (RSRC)Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division
Marine Science Program
Marine Microbial Ecology Research Group
Date
2014-06-19Online Publication Date
2014-06-19Print Publication Date
2014-07Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/563605
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Photosynthetic prokaryotes of the genus Prochlorococcus play a major role in global primary production in the world's oligotrophic oceans. A recent study on pelagic bacterioplankton communities in the northern and central Red Sea indicated that the predominant cyanobacterial 16S rRNA gene sequence types were from Prochlorococcus cells belonging to a high-light-adapted ecotype (HL II). In this study, we analyzed microdiversity of Prochlorococcus sp. at multiple depths within and below the euphotic zone in the northern, central, and southern regions of the Red Sea, as well as in surface waters in the same locations, but in a different season. Prochlorococcus dominated the communities in clone libraries of the amplified 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Almost no differences were found between samples from coastal or open-water sites, but a high diversity of Prochlorococcus ecotypes was detected at 100-meter depth in the water column. In addition, an unusual dominance of HL II-related sequences was observed in deeper waters. Our results indicate that the Red Sea harbors diverse Prochlorococcus lineages, but no novel ecotypes, despite its unusual physicochemical properties. © 2014 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.Sponsors
We thank AbdulAziz Al-Suwailem, the scientists, the captain and the crew of the R/V Aegaeo for the KAUST Red Sea Expeditions in 2010 and 2011, and the Coastal and Marine Resources Core Lab (CMRC) and the Biosciences Core Laboratory (BCL) at King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) for their logistical and technical support. This study was supported by the SABIC Career Development Chair (US).Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)Journal
FEMS Microbiology LettersPubMed ID
24888561ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1111/1574-6968.12490